THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHIEF DENNIS OSADEBE THE MAN WHO EXCISE THE WESTERN IGBO PEOPLE FROM THE WESTERN NIGERIA, UNIFY, AND NAME THEM “ANIOMA”

THE UNTOLD STORY OF CHIEF DENNIS OSADEBE THE MAN WHO EXCISE THE WESTERN IGBO PEOPLE FROM THE WESTERN NIGERIA, UNIFY, AND NAME THEM “ANIOMA”

Chief Dennis Chukudi Osadebe (1911 1994)

Chief Osadebe was an Igbo Nigerian politician, poet, journalist and former premier of the now defunct Mid-Western Region of Nigeria, which now comprises Edo State and Delta State. He was one of the pioneering Nigerian poets who wrote in English.
Chief Dennis Osadebe was a pioneer and founding father of the movement for the creation of Anioma State, a struggle that has been ongoing for more than 70 years. He was born in Asaba, Delta State, to parents of mixed cultural backgrounds. He attended Asaba Government School at Asaba, the Sacred Heart School in Calabar and Hope Waddell Training Institute. He joined the labour force in 1930 as a customs officer working in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar. He subsequently went to England to study Law during the 1940s.It was while studying that he started publishing poetic verses.He was then known as a newspaper poet, as most of his writings were published in the West African Pilot and a few other newspapers. In his writings, Osadebay used both his personal life and public events as inspiration. In Africa Sings, a collection of poems, he delved into themes from a personal point of view, such as a sullen poem written about his 25th birthday and the coming of middle age. However, his best work in the volume were poems written from an impersonal viewpoint.In his adventurous poem “black man troubles”, he used pidgin English to lament the status of black Africans in colonial Africa and injustice in the society. His poems were also notable for faithfully representing modern poetic rhythm.As a politician, he detested party politics and tried to form unbiased opinions on important matters of the period. He was also a leader of the movement to create a Mid-Western region during the Nigerian First Republic.

His key contributions include:
Coinage of the Term “Anioma”: In 1951, Osadebay coined the term “Anioma” as an acronym from the four original local government areas in the region—Aniocha (A), Ndokwa (N), Ika (I), and Oshimili (O)—to provide a collective indigenous name and unified identity for the people of Western Igboid-speaking areas.
Pioneering the Movement: He was a front-runner and “progenitor” of the agitation for a distinct state or region for the people, initially framing the need around identity and destiny rather than partisan politics. The struggle started in earnest in 1954 during the London constitutional conference.As a politician, he detested party politics and tried to form unbiased opinions on important matters of the period. He was also a leader of the movement to create a Mid-Western region during the Nigerian First Republic.

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